“I’m trying to,” Kaid snapped, “if you would stop barging into places like a charging bull.”
Kaid wasn’t in the mood, and he would pick a fight with anyone right now, especiallythisspecific person. Not that he could win without Halsten at his side, but then again, maybe being beaten into oblivion would make him feel better.
Gyrial grabbed Kaid by the front of his shirt and pinned him to the wall, and Kaid couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. This whole thing was typical. He was the one who fell for the girl and now he was also the one who would be painted as the villain.
“Stop!” Asta shouted as she ran toward the men. “You,” She pointed at Kaid, “to your suite, now! And Gyrial, to my bedroom.” Her arm flung behind her as she pointed to her bedroom door.
Kaid continued to stare into Gyrial’s eyes, his unhinged laughter echoing through the silent suite. Eventually, Gyrial let go, storming past Asta and disappearing into the bedroom.
She stared at Kaid for a long moment before shaking her head and retreating as well.
Chapter 16
Asta awoke in her bed the next morning, eyes puffy and cheeks tear-stained. She stretched and realized she was still wearing her clothes from the day before, but that was the least of her worries.
She walked over to her bedroom door and cracked it open enough to see that Gyrial was still sleeping on her chaise in front of the fire. Not only did she feel guilty about kissing him during that night in the alley—even though it was part of their plan—but now she felt worse because she had told him what happened with Kaid.
Asta rubbed her eyes, still unable to process all the events of the night before.
She had wanted him. She couldn’t stand him, but she had still wanted him. How incredibly broken did her mind have to be to let something like that happen?
When she thought of Kaid, she thought of his infuriating charisma—his ability to make light of nearly any situation and never take anything seriously. She saw a man not fit to be a king, not fit to marry her sister.
But that was the problem. There were never any thoughts of a man not fit forher.
Kaid was infuriating, challenging, and often annoying. And yet she didn’t want to go a day without bickering with him.
Asta had spent the whole night crying over a spoiled philanderer, who was also betrothed. To her own sister. To be married in less than a week. How despicable was that?
In determination, Asta dressed in fresh clothes, opting for a thick velvet dress after observing the dark clouds brewing on the horizon. The storm at sea looked to be particularly nasty, the lightning already visible from the coast.
When she exited her room, she gave into the urge and tapped her threshold. It made her wince, her own ritual becoming a bad memory that she would now have to relive each time she entered a new room. She had told Kaid of her compulsions, her inability to refrain from them. She had laid herself bare willingly.
Had it all been a game to him? That was the thought that worried her more than anything. She had played a trick on him on the beach and this was his revenge. To lure her in, get her to confess her embarrassing secrets, then seduce her and claim control of this dance. What other explanation was there?
She was so damn stupid for falling for it all.
Gyrial was awake by the time Asta was done getting dressed, his expression light and filled with sunshine as always. “Care for a walk before the storm rolls in?”
Gyrial looped his arm with Asta’s as they peacefully walked down the beach, letting her choose when to talk. He always knew what to do to make her feel better, and Asta didn’t deserve him. After everything she had confessed, why was he still being so kind to her?
They had tried once, years ago, to act on those emotions. Gyrial had done nothing wrong during that time. He was the perfect gentleman on every date, holding doors for her, giving her his undivided attention, loaning her his cloak when it got too cold. He was an attentive lover, gentle and sweet. Everything she had read about in romance novels, Gyrial had done. But when it came down to it, something was missing for Asta.
Ending the romance between them had not been an easy decision, but her choices were limited. She could have let it continue until she blew up and ended the relationship terribly, with no chance of reconciling their friendship afterward. Or, she could have ended things right away, before their relationship developed further, and hoped Gyrial could find it in him to remain her companion.
Though he never spoke of it since, Asta had suspected he remained in love with her. It was why she never spoke to him about romantic interests or dates. Avoidance was her best tactic—one Asta had mastered.
That was, until their plan to confront the courtesan. Asta had been selfish in insisting that Gyrial pose as her lover instead of Kaid, not thinking of her best friend’s own well-being. Sheknew the kiss they shared in the alley that night had hurt him, but he would never complain. He would do anything for her.
Last night was proof of that. Gyrial claimed he was making his rounds and had heard sounds in Asta’s suite late at night and believed it to be an intruder. He had burst in and when he saw Kaid there, he knew exactly what had happened. Or so he thought.
It wasn’t as bad as Gyrial originally believed, Asta had explained to him the night prior. She had stopped it before it escalated. She would never forget the relief that shown in his golden eyes at that. The confirmation of his everlasting feelings for her.
“I’ll be fine,” Asta sighed.
Gyrial smiled at her, his perfect teeth shining despite their cloudy surroundings. He planted a kiss atop her head. “You always are,” he said.
Loud thunder cracked through the air and in front of them, a dapple gray horse reared up on the beach. She could see the shine of the mare’s golden bridle and assumed it was a horse that escaped from the royal stables due to the storm spooking her.
